I wrote, “The Final Feast”, not to tell believ­ers exactly how to become a Taber­na­cle Chris­t­ian but rather to help those inter­ested per­son­ally explore this undis­cov­ered country. Learn about the spiritual fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles and Divine Love here…

Obedience

It is written,

“What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen shall come abroad unto all women, so that they shall despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not.”

Esther 1:15-17

When you have a large kingdom, it is vital that you be able to count on the obedience of your subjects. When QueenVashti refused to come at her husbands command, that public display of rebellion threatened to set a bad example for all women, undermine his authority, and destabilize the Kingdom.

Here is a truth,

“The larger the group the more important it is for those within the group to be obedient.

What we see from how King Ahasuerus dealt with Queen Vashti’s rebellion, is that submission begins in the home and is the foundation of all submission to authority outside the home. Vashti’s disobedience threatened the very foundation (obedience) upon which the King’s dominion was based, which had to be dealt with accordingly lest the kingdom fall into disorder.

In a time before this creation, Lucifer an archangel, was found to be in rebellion to God and the story of Esther and Vashti is just an echo of this event. In a Kingdom of perfect order, perfect obedience (out of love) and perfect submission, any disobedience brings about disorder and threatens the stability of the whole. Lucifer decided that he wanted to sit in the sides of the north and be like God. He challenged God’s rule and threatened His Kingdom through being unwilling to remain obedient to the Almighty. What Started with Lucifer spread (just as the natural counselors of the King had warned) to others within our Father’s kingdom and eventually one third of the angels rebelled with the fallen one. Like Vashti, God (the King) had to deal with the rebellion and so Lucifer and his fallen angels were cast out of heaven.

Disobedience is the source of all conflict. In God’s perfect Kingdom Lucifer became disobedient and corrupted others to join him. In the Garden of Eden it was the disobedience of Eve that lead to the disobedience of Adam. Disobedience is, in its most elemental form, simply deviating from the will of God. This is the basis of all sin and the root cause of all suffering. When we set our minds to be obedient we reverse this process and everything starts to come into alignment with His will. To the extent that we let Him live His life through us, we are re-made into His image and likeness. If rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, obedience is as the holiness of God.

Our homes are to be pictures of heavenly obedience. As we organize ourselves around Christ, we become an example of His submission to His Father and this submission permeates everything we are and do. We love Him because He first loved us and we willingly submit to His will because of that love. Our wives and children submit to their husbands and fathers, not because they fear them, but because they love them. They trust and that trust encourages them to be willing to obey, even when they do not understand. True submission is not oppression but rather an eager obedience given freely out of love and respect. Those who demand obedience through fear are not Christlike but rather simple bullies that know not God.

We live in a disrespectful generation. We are taught, from our early years, to disregard and disrespect authority. We are told that those who have the rule over us are selfish, evil, and uncaring. Women mock men as mere animals driven by lust and appetite. Some women even refer to men as “dogs” even though they are made in the image and likeness of God. Children are taught that their parents do not understand them and are incapable of relating to them. Unlike eastern societies, some young people despise those of old age rather than respect the wisdom of their years.

It is written,

“There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.”

Proverbs 30:11-14

As Christians we are not from this Earth, but the country that we come from is a heavenly one. We have a different set of customs, sensibilities, and morals. When we are reviled we bless, when we are wronged we forgive, when others spitefully use us we return good for their evil. In a world full of rebellion we submit both to our heavenly Father and to those who have authority over us. Our homes are to be models of heavenly submission, willingly given out of heartfelt love and respect. Our children honor their fathers and mothers, not because they must, but because they look up to them with reverence and awe.

True obedience cannot be achieved through our natural efforts for very long; our flesh is just too opposed to it. Godly submission starts with our submission to the Holy Spirit, when we confess our sins and ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. It is further deepened when we yield our most unruly member of our bodies (our tongues) to His will as we speak in other tongues. It is perfected when we fully yield the rest of our beings to God, allowing His divine love to flow into us and through us to others. When we allow Christ to live in us and through us, submission is not difficult but it becomes our very nature (because it is His nature.) It is as effortless and as natural, as breathing.

In conclusion, if you find obedience difficult know that you do not have to do it on your own. Seek to be filled with His Spirit and allow Him to live His life through you. As you step to the background and allow the Holy Spirit to take over,Christ’s yoke will truly be easy and this burden will be light. Know that as you make little efforts to become submissive, that God will bless you. What was once difficult will become very natural and free flowing. Remember, we live in a generation that is not obedient, so becoming obedient will seem a bit strange for a while until you become comfortable living as God’s loving and willing servant.